Description of several temples of Kerala which are the mini editions of deep devotion
P.R.Ramachander

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Kalpathy Viswanatha swamy temple

Kalpathi Temple / Kalapathy Temple,KeralaFrom http://www.religiousportal.com/KalpathyTemple.htmland http://kbspalakkad.org/activities/activities.htm )The Kalpathy Vishwanatha Swamy shrine is the oldest Shiva temple situated 3 kmsfrom Palakkad.The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is famous for the annualChariot Festival. The festival is a gala event and lasts for seven days.The Kalpathy Vishwanatha Swamy temple is the oldest Shiva temple in Malabar.Itwas built around 1425 A.D. by Kombi Achan; the then raja of Palakkad.Kalpathy CarFestival is based on Vedic Tamil Brahmin Culture.On the last three days of the car festival, beautifully decorated temple chariots areceremoniously drawn through the streets by thousands of devotees whose soulstirring chants rent the air. Three magnificent chariots, bedecked with flowers andflags, dominate the festival, each sanctified by the presence of the lord. Crowds ofpeople and millions of hands try to reach out to be one of the privileged to have thehonor of pulling the chariots, as they proceed in stately grandeur.The weeklong annual Chariot Festival begins in the month of November, every year.Thousands of devotees haul the huge, intricately carved temple chariots through thestreets.Vedic recitals are held in the temple throughout the festival. Vedic chantssonorously recited by the Vedic scholars escorting the god, makes Kalpathy comealive with the spirit of true devotion and joyous celebration. The Tamil Brahminvillages adjacent to the temple have been declared a World Heritage site. A visit tothese villages offer a glimpse of the cultural life that existed 1000 years ago.LegendLegend has it that a Brahmin widow named Lakshmiammal went to Banaras andbrought Lingam and installed in the present site on the Southern bank of river NeelaBhagirathi. The location of the temple and steps leading to the river brings mind of avisitor the Banaras Temples on the bank of Ganges. Hence this temple is called"Kasiyil Pakuthi Kalpathy" (Half Banaras).The primacy of Sree “Viswanatha Swamy” Temple in Palakkad Town is even todayaccepted, as the deities of all the temples of the town is taken in procession to theViswanatha Swamy Temple on Mamankam day held once in 12 years. An inscription inVattezuthe on a stone planted to the east of this temple records some endowmentswitnessed by Itikombi Achan, a member of the Palakkad Royal family in Malayalam Era600 (1424-25 AD). Evidently this temple was consecrated earlier and if we are to go bylegends, it was built at the instance of one Lakshmy Ammal a widow of Sekaripuramwho gave the Prince 1320 gold coins to build the temple and entrusted with him itsmanagement. This trustee system still continues in the temple.Presently it is located at the meeting point of Old and New Kalpathy. There are about 150houses on each side of the temple. Recently, these have been declared as “The Heritage”by the Archeological Survey of India , since such a large congregation of tiled line housessharing walls belonging to the old architecture is found here only. It takes one down thememory lane to show that civilization survived and prospered only at places where waterwas found in abundance. It rightly places Palakkad district as the rice bowl of Kerala.

1 comment:

I was a resident of New Kalpathy and its adjoining agraharam, Govindarajapuram for many years, during 1952-68. Other than Viswanathaswamy, the other deities are Manthakkara Ganapthy, Old Kalpathy Perumal, Chathapuram Ganapathy and 12th street Ganapathy. Chariots belonging to all these temples congregate on the last day of the chariot festival near Viswanathaswamy temple. The event is known as "Radhasamgamam". An elephant is employed to push the mammoth chariot of Viswanatha. No elephant is used for Manthakkara Ganapathy, although it is equally massive, as the deity in the chariot is also an "Elephant God". Famous nadaswara vidwan parties lead the pallakku procession of all the deities at the end of the Chariot festival. The chariots of Old Kalpathy Perumal and Chathapuram Ganapathy are much smaller and can be pulled by devotees without much hardship.